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Archive for the Youth Department category

Worship & You Unit 12

Posted on Monday, April 19, 2010 at 5:02 PM by Jason Barker

The study guide, discussion guide, and re/CALL episode for Unit 12 of the Worship & You study are now available.

Posted in Ancient Faith, Jason Barker, Miscellaneous, re/CALL, Youth Department

Worship & You Units

Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 5:10 PM by Jason Barker

I've fallen behind on posting links to the Worship & You study on this blog, but since the last post I've uploaded units nine, ten and eleven. Each of these units also contains the most recent episode of the re/CALL podcast.

Posted in Ancient Faith, Jason Barker, Miscellaneous, re/CALL, Youth Department

Worship & You: Unit 8

Posted on Friday, March 19, 2010 at 10:52 AM by Jason Barker

The study guide and discussion guide from Unit 8 of the Worship & You study are now available.

Posted in Ancient Faith, Jason Barker, Miscellaneous, Online Resources, Youth Department

The Future of My Teen Bible Studies is in Your Hands!

Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 4:56 PM by Jason Barker

Hi, I'm Jason Barker, the host of Get Wisdom. For over 6 ½ years I've been producing Bible study materials for Orthodox Christian teens, and for almost 2 ½ years I'be been producing the Get Wisdom podcast. I'm doing this special episode of Get Wisdom because I need your feedback.

I love studying the Bible, and I love sharing Bible study with Orthodox Christian teens and adults. But now, after years of creating these—and other materials—I have a bit of a dilemma: I need to make some choices about what work (both Orthodox and otherwise) I'll be doing in the future. This is where you come in.

Don't worry, I'm not asking for any money!

What I need from you is feedback: do you value my teen Bible studies and Get Wisdom podcast? Do you want me to create more of them (such as continuing the series on the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew)? If so, then I need to hear from you. Let me know that you want me to continue creating Bible studies and podcasts for teens. Or, if there's something else you'd like to see and use, let me know about that.

Send me an email, or contact me using Twitter, Facebook, or a number of instant messaging services, from my website at orthodoxresource.com.

I'm not asking for any type of financial commitment, or even any personal information; if I continue creating these resources, I'll create them entirely for free, just as I always have. All I want is to know that there are enough people who use and value these resources that you're willing to tell me you want them.

If I hear from enough people, then I'll know that I need to continue creating teen Bible studies and the Get Wisdom podcast. If I don't hear from people, however, then I'll know that it's time for me to move on and do something else. In either case, praise God.

So again, send me an email, or visit my website at orthodoxresource.com. In two weeks I'll let you know what I've learned. Until then, thank you.

Posted in Bible Studies, Get Wisdom!, Jason Barker, Miscellaneous, OCN, Youth Department

Worship & You: Unit 3

Posted on Friday, February 12, 2010 at 12:04 PM by Jason Barker

The study guide and discussion guide for Unit 3 of the Worship & You study are now available.

Posted in Ancient Faith, Jason Barker, Online Resources, Youth Department

Worship & You: Unit 2

Posted on Friday, February 05, 2010 at 4:46 PM by Jason Barker

The teen study guide and discussion guide for Unit 2 of the Worship & You study are now available.

Posted in Ancient Faith, Online Resources, Youth Department

Worship & You Now Live!

Posted on Monday, February 01, 2010 at 12:34 PM by Jason Barker

Worship & You, my new multimedia study with Ancient Faith Radio, is now live! The study examines how you can carry the transforming power of Orthodox worship into daily life.

The study offers free downloadable study guides, discussion guides, and podcasts in two versions: one for teens, and another for adults.

Unit 1 is currently available; new units will be added weekly until the study concludes.

The Department of Youth Ministry is also partnering in the project to create the teen version of the study.

Posted in Ancient Faith, Jason Barker, Miscellaneous, Online Resources, Orthodox News, Youth Department

OYO Joins FOCUS

Posted on Monday, August 10, 2009 at 12:20 PM by Jason Barker

Orthodox Youth Outreach (OYO) has now joined the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve (FOCUS) to expand the Orthodox outreach to the poor of North America. Read the announcement here.

Posted in Orthodox News, Youth Department

New Bible Study Launches Tomorrow

Posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 9:50 AM by Jason Barker

My new Bible study for Orthodox Christian teens and adults - The Catholic Epistles: An Orthodox Bible Study of James, 1-2 Peter, and 1-3 John - will officially launch tomorrow. I'm leaving the banner advertising the study of the Gospel according to St. John the Theologian up on the homepage for one more day for teens who might engage in last-minute cramming to prepare for tonight's Bible Bowl at the Antiochian Archdiocese Convention.

Posted in Bible Studies, Youth Department

Teen SOYO YouTube Video

Posted on Friday, June 19, 2009 at 4:15 PM by Jason Barker

The Department of Youth Ministry of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has released a video on YouTube celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Teen SOYO. Click here to read more.

Posted in Youth Department

New OYO Director

Posted on Friday, May 22, 2009 at 11:21 AM by Jason Barker

The Department of Youth Ministry of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has announced that Katrina Bitar is the new Executive Director of OYO - Orthodox Youth Outreach.

Posted in Orthodox News, Youth Department

New Home Page

Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 11:06 AM by Jason Barker

A couple of days ago I put up a new home page for the Orthodox Christian Bible Studies site (of which this blog is a subsite). I needed more room for adding new resources, and I wanted to highlight the latest blog posts and episodes from the GET WISDOM and re/CALL podcasts.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Youth Department

New Bible Study on John

Posted on Monday, December 15, 2008 at 12:55 AM by Jason Barker

I've just launched my new Bible study on the Holy Gospel according to St. John the Theologian. The study features full-color study guides, quizzes, and homilies from St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel.

I've currently only completed the study guide for the first chapter, but the complete set of quizzes and homilies are available now. I'll upload new study guides on a regular basis throughout the first few months of 2009.

Posted in Bible Studies, Youth Department

New Podcast Coming 3/22

Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 7:32 PM by Jason Barker

My new podcast, re/CALL (Responding to God's Call in Your Life), will launch on March 22nd. re/CALL is a podcast for Orthodox Christian teens and young adults that focuses on how your relationship with God and His Church can permeate every aspect of your life: dealing with family, friends, school, work, your spiritual life, and everything in-between!

To learn more, visit the re/CALL website at www.orthodoxyouth.org/recall.

The program is a partnership between the Department of Youth Ministry and Ancient Faith Radio.

Posted in Ancient Faith, re/CALL, Youth Department

Orthodox Teen Talk Online

Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 at 1:31 PM by Jason Barker

The Orthodox Christian Network, with partners including members of Teen SOYO, is launching a new audio program called Orthodox Teen Talk Online, or OTTO. The program will involve Orthodox teens - guided by Fr. Christopher Metropulos and Emmy Louvaris - discussing issues involving contemporary teen life.

An MP3 of the first episode is available here.

Posted in OCN, Orthodox News, Youth Department

Sacred Gift of Life and Share the Light Sunday

Posted on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 8:32 AM by Jason Barker

This Sunday - January 20, 2008 - is the date for two important events.

That is the date for the annual Sacred Gift of Life Sunday, in which members of Teen SOYO lead members of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in protecting the unborn. You can find resources here.

January 20th is also the date for the annual Share the Light Sunday to support the work of the Orthodox Christian Network. You can find resources here.

Posted in OCN, Orthodox News, Youth Department

The Study of 1 Corinthians Has Launched

Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 at 10:52 AM by Jason Barker

Life Together: An Interactive Study of 1 Corinthians is now available! You will find both the multimedia Bible study application (which requires the free Adobe Shockwave player), as well as HTML versions of the articles. You can also download group study guides and quizzes.

The study is currently complete through chapter ten, and will be finished over the next few weeks.

Remember that the current GET WISDOM radio series - with group study guides (actually using the same text as the Life Together study guides) - is also covering 1 Corinthians.

Posted in Bible Studies, Youth Department

NEW BIBLE STUDY BOOKLET

Posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 9:45 AM by Jason Barker

You can now download my free, eight page, full-color booklet on Bible study, You Can Read the Bible: An Orthodox Guide to Bible Study.

The booklet gives a brief overview of why you should read the Bible, the role of Orthodox Tradition in Bible study, and three methods for engaging in transforming Bible study.

The first two episodes of GET WISDOM - and their study guides - were based on this booklet.

Download your free copy today!

Posted in Bible Studies, Get Wisdom!, OCN, Online Resources, Youth Department

Register for Personal Emails for "Life Together"

Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 at 4:51 PM by Jason Barker

Life Together: An Interactive Study of 1 Corinthians, which launches November 1st, will be the 2007-2008 online multimedia Bible study of the Department of Youth Ministry - Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (it is also a featured ministry of our partner, the Orthodox Christian Network). The study will be used by Teen SOYO groups throughout the United States and Canada to prepare for the 2008 Bible Bowl; it will also be used by youth groups in other Orthodox jurisdictions.

Life Together will feature the biblical text of 1 Corinthians (from the New King James Version), a modern commentary for each chapter, and a commentary by St. John Chrysostom; articles about persons and places that appear in the text; articles about Orthodox Christianity and applying the biblical text to the reader's life; downloadable study sheets for group study; and quizzes.

I wrote an article earlier featuring screenshots of the Life Together user interface; click here to read that article and get a preview of the "look and feel" of the application.

Like all our Orthodox Christian Bible Studies, Life Together will be completely free to access and use.

Beginning on Life Together's launch on November 1st, I will also send personalized emails to Orthodox teens (one email per week for the sixteen weeks of the study) featuring an overview of the content from that chapter, with an attached group study guide and an encouragement to engage in group study with the teen's local Orthodox youth group. Like the Bible study application itself, this personalized email is also completely free.

11/1/07 Update: Registration for the email program is now closed.

Edited on: Thursday, November 01, 2007 11:25 AM

Posted in Bible Studies, Youth Department

On Staff with the OCN

Posted on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 at 10:10 PM by Jason Barker

I'm privileged to announce that - in addition to my work with the Department of Youth Ministry - I am now on the staff of the Orthodox Christian Network. I will be creating study guides to accompany episodes of Come Receive the Light.

I will continue, of course, to engage in the work in which the Youth Department and OCN are partnering: my online Bible studies and upcoming radio program.

I thank both Fr. Christopher Metropulos and Fr. Joseph Purpura for the opportunity to participate in their ministries.

Posted in Jason Barker, OCN, Youth Department

Orthodox Conference on Missions and Evangelism

Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 at 8:14 AM by Jason Barker

One of the featured speakers at the 2007 Orthodox Conference on Missions and Evangelism - to be held 8/31-9/3 - will be Fr. Kevin Scherer, executive director of Orthodox Youth Outreach.

Posted in Youth Department

Our Partnership with OCN

Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 at 6:40 PM by Jason Barker

Fr. Christopher Metropulos has announced that the Orthodox Christian Network has formed a partnership with the Department of Youth Ministry "to produce innovative programming for Orthodox youth." Now that this formal announcement has been made, I can tell you about two of the things I will be doing as part of this partnership.

First, the online Orthodox Christian Bible Studies I create will now be published as a partnership between the OCN and the Youth Department. The first study that will be created through this partnership with be "Life Together: An Interactive Study of the First Epistle to the Corinthians." This study will launch in its entirety on November 1st.

Second, I am creating a new radio program that will air on The Ark and The Rudder. This program will be a weekly Bible study with PDF handouts that can be downloaded for personal and group study.

Both the OCN and the Department of Youth Ministry invite you to join with us in this exciting new phase of our ministry to Orthodox youth!

Posted in Orthodox News, Youth Department

Audio Reports Online

Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 at 3:12 PM by Jason Barker

Thanks to Ancient Faith Radio, MP3 recordings of reports by Fr. Joseph Purpura (for the Department of Youth Ministry) and George Sackllah (for Teen SOYO) to the Antiochian Archdiocese Convention are available online.

Posted in Youth Department

New Youth Worker Positions

Posted on Tuesday, June 05, 2007 at 1:29 PM by Jason Barker

A number of youth worker positions are currently open in parishes in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. To learn more, contact:

V. Rev. Dr. Joseph F Purpura

Department of Youth Ministry

PO Box 389 Westwood MA 02090

Office: 1-781-461-1757

Cell: 1-617-803-5567

You can also send email to Fr. Joseph using the contact form on the Department of Youth Ministry's homepage.

Posted in Youth Department